Social Security History

This is an archival or historical document and may not reflect current policies or procedures.

History of SSA During the Johnson Administration 1963-1968

APPENDIX G7- CONTRIBUTORS
TO THE HISTORY OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION-- LYNDON B. JOHNSON'S
ADMINISTRATION, 1963 - 1968*

* Names of contributors appear on the page
behind each of the main headings.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES

A. Reorganization of July 1965. The primary objectives were six in
number:

1. To accommodate within the over-all structure of the Social Security
Administration, the important new units with special responsibility
for the hospital and supplementary medical insurance programs. This
was accomplished by establishing the Bureau of Health Insurance.

2. To modify existing units to accommodate additional responsibilities
because of these programs.

3. To provide for greater efficiency and economy and fuller utilization
of scarce skills in the new technical area of electronic data processing
and transmission by centering responsibility for this function in
a single headquarters unit, namely the Bureau of Data Processing and
Accounts.

4. To strengthen the role of the management unit at the top level
of the agency in order to better assure the most effective, efficient,
and economical administration of both old and new, program responsibilities.
This was the Office of Administration.

5. To increase the technical support for district offices, payment
centers, and State agency operation by assigning responsibility for
functional supervision of technical work to specialized Bureaus and
their representatives.

6. To strengthen the administration of the social security programs
in the field by placing responsibility for coordination and leadership
of all social security activities in a given geographical area under
a regional assistant commissioner reporting directly to the Office
of the Commissioner.

B. Establishment of a special staff, Employee Management Relations
and Equal Employment Opportunity, in September 1965.

C. During 1967 and 1968, reorganizations have been taking place within
the various bureaus and offices to achieve more effective management
of specific segments of work.

A. The appointments of Arthur E. Hess as Deputy Commissioner, Thomas
Tierney as Director of the Bureau of Health Insurance, Thomas G. Ball
as Deputy Director, Bureau of Health Insurance, and William E. Hanna,
Jr., as Director of the Bureau of Data Processing and Accounts.

B. The A.F.G.E. Lodge No, 1923 was granted exclusive recognition for
Baltimore headquarters and Baltimore payment center employees. Recognition
was granted to several other unions covering field employees.

C. A greatly expanded program was instituted for hiring the handicapped
and the disadvantaged.

D. Additional st:pergrades were provided to strengthen the direction
of , the vastly expanded social security program.

E. A vast new program was carried on to recruit thousands of new employees
to handle new or larger programs.

F. The training program was expanded to strengthen technical and managerial
training and two new programs were begun:

1. An executive development system for top-level staff.
2. A career development system for middle-level executives.

B. Changes brought about by the Social Security Amendments of 1965,
1966, and 1967:

1. Two related health insurance programs for people-over 65 to help
pay hospital, physician, and other medical and health services.

2. Cash benefits increased an average of 23 percent.

3. The contribution and benefit.base was raised from $4300 to $7800.

4. The retirement test was raised from $1200 to $1680.

5. Minimum cash benefits at 65 years of age was raised from $40 to
$55 per month.

6. Coverage was extended to new beneficiaries: students 18 to 22;
disabled widows and widowers at age 50; disabled young workers with
limited coverage; certain persons 72 and older; self-employed doctors,
additional ministers, additional employees of nonprofit organizations,
and State and local government employees; and widows at age 60.

7. Payment was allowed from the disability trust fund in the rehabilitation
of disability cases.

8. Actions were taken to implement these vast and complex changes.

C. A system was established of reevaluating automatically the earnings
of beneficiaries after their initial entitlement and where indicated,
increasing their benefit payments.

D. "Project Moneywise" was organized. This had the effect
of extending the services of credit unions to people with limited
incomes.

E. The informational program was brought to new high levels to inform
the public about health insurance and the other provisions of the
1965, 1966, and 1967 amendments. This included special groups in the
population as well as professional and scientific, civic and voluntary,
and philanthropic and eleemosynary organizations.

F. Significant actions taken by SSA to implement the amendments.

PROGRAM CHANGES

A. Staff of the Office of Program Evaluation and Planning; Stanley
Katz., Bureau of Disability Insurance

B.
1. Staff of the Office of Program Evaluation and Planning
2. Staff of the Office of Program Evaluation and Planning
3. Staff of the Office of Program Evaluation and Planning
4. Staff of the Office of Program Evaluation and Planning
5. Staff of the Office of Program Evaluation and Planning
6. Staff of the Office of Program Evaluation and. Planning; Stanley
Katz., Bureau of Disability Insurance
7. Staff of the Office of Program Evaluation and Planning; Charles
D. Jones, Bureau of Disability Insurance
8. Edward Fotheringill, Office of Administration; and Clement Richardson,
Office of Administration

A. Establishment of the Total Data Systems Plan for integration of
claims process.

B. The development of centralized recordkeeping in connection with
the implementation of the health insurance program.

C Extending office hours beyond the normal working day in the district
offices.

D. Establishment of an evaluation and measurement system to continuously
assess the validity of the assumptions underlying claims policy.

E. The adaptation of operations to deal with non-government participants,
intermediaries, carriers, and providers--in the medicare program.

F. Establishing new systems of appraisal to improve the quality of
claims processing.

G. The utilization of the optical scanner to reduce manual operations
in the maintenance of earnings records.

H. The use of magnetic tape reporting by large employers which eliminate
the need for manual operation.

I. Tiie substantial expansion of field facilities, particularly the
establishment of a new type of facility, the branch office, and the
dispersal of some of these in metropolitan areas, especially in disadvantaged
neighborhoods.

A, Coordinating and integrating our systems and procedures with those
of the Treasury Disbursing Office, the Internal Revenue Service, the
Railroad Retirement Board, the Veterans Administration, the Civil
Service Commission, and others.

B. Working first with the Public Health Service, more recently with
the Department's Office of Civil Rights, to secure compiiance of Title
VI of the Civil Rights Act.

C. Working with the Equal Employment Opportunity Office in promoting
a non-discriminatory policy.

D. Planning and directing the first national survey of the total aged
population (1963) and the first national survey of the total disabled
adult population, both in and out of institutions, (1966-1968). Bureau
of Census collaborated in conducting household interviews for both
surveys.

E. Bureau of the Census collaborates in conducting household interviews
for a Continuing Current Medicare Survey, each obtains current data
monthly on hospital and medical care services used and of the changes
incurred by persons covered under the program.

F. Participating in the Neighborhood Youth Corps program of the Equal
Opportunity Act.

G. Arranged with Bureau of Labor Statistics beginning in 1966 to collect
prices on a selected number of surgical procedures and in-hospital
services that are important to older persons.

H. Developed a poverty index in 1965 winch varies in relation to family
size and composition, and farm - nonfarm residence. The index was
adopted by the Council of Economic Advisers and the Office of Economic
Opportunity.

I. Working with Social and Rehabilitation Service, the Public Health
Service, Department of Agriculture, and other agencies, in carrying
out the Medicare and State Medical Assistance programs.

J. Working with the Agency for International Development on the training
of foreign officials concerned with social security programs.

K. Working with the State Department on payment of benefits to beneficiaries
living in foreign countries.

L. Worked with Civil Service Commission, the Office of Economic Opportunity,
the Post Office Department; and the Department of Agriculture, and
others, in carrying out the Medicare enrollment phase.

M. Represented on the Department's task force on drugs and the Gorham
Report on medical care prices.

A. The Social Security Administration cooperated with various Congressional
committees and subcommittees, and providing service to individual
Representatives and Senators. All of this took the form of furnishing
informational, speech, general program, and related materials, as
well as materials dealing with legislative issues and current problem
areas.

LEGISLATIVE RELATIONS

A. Staff of the Office of Program Evaluation and Planning; G. Hinckley
Porters Office of Information; Hugh L. Johnson, Office of the Commissioner

EXTERNAL RELATION'S--LABOR, BUSINESS, ETC.

A. The Advisory Council on Social Security Financing, 1963-1964, reported
in January 1, 1965,on financing, adequacy of benefits, and extension
of coverage.

C. Dealings with State agencies and hospitals in carrying out Title
VI.

D. A Health Insurance Benefits Advisory Council council appointed
to advise the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare on policy
matters in connection with administering health insurance, and under
recent legislation to study the utilization of services covered under
the program.

E. The Social Security Administration has participated in a number
of community-type programs, for example, it served as host for Joborama
to make job opportunities known; it cooperated in carrying out the
Youth Opportunity Program; its district office personnel one working
closely with the Model Cities Program.

F. The appointment of an advisory committee on nonprogram use of the
social security account number.

G. The SSA was the host to the XV Assembly of the International Social
Security Association in September 1964.

H. An Advisory Committee on Research Development provides assistance
for its research program.

I. The SSA sponsored a Conference on Private Health Insurance in order
to improve private health insurance coverage.

J. The SSA played a leading role in the National Conference on Medical
Costs.

A. Taking on a huge new responsibility--Medicare--which broadened
the whole scope of the social security program.

CHANGES IN CHARACTER OR EMPHASIS

A. Marjorie Jacobs, Bureau of Health Insurance

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

A. This will not only include the legislative changes already described
under program changes, but will also include a discussion of Administration
proposals which were either not enacted or enacted in modified form.

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